1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charging process for selling information by telephone.
2. Discussion of the Background
Several different processes are used for selling information by telephone. According to a first process, a caller calls by means of his telephone line an information supply organization, with which he has a subscription. The call is received by the operator who firstly identifies the caller either by calling him back by telephone, or by making him give a confidential access code (pass word or number). This confidential code is given to the customer in exchange for the payment of his subscription or the opening of a debit account. Once the identity of the caller has been checked, the desired information is supplied by an Expert having access to manual or computerized information. The message transmitted to the caller has a random duration, which is naturally dependent on the nature of the information sought.
This process suffers from disadvantages in that the identification of callers, the keeping up to date of customers' accounts, the management of access codes and subscriptions, etc. are long, complicated and dull tasks.
Other information distribution processes are known, which use automatic means called data banks. In such systems, the caller is connected to a computer, which firstly starts off an identificatiion operation and only then is the caller allowed to interrogate the data bank.
These two special operations, namely identification and interrogation, call for a specific data communications terminal able to transmit on a telephone line special codes which can be recognized by the computer and without interrupting the call. Thus, access to the information is only available to users having such a terminal.
Thus, this type of service only affects a small proportion of telephone subscribers, which is not very satisfactory.
If it is wished to extend across to a data bank to all telephone subscribers, in view of the present structure of the most widely used telephone terminals, it is necessary that this information is supplied in spoken form, that it is free, i.e. the data bank does not seek payment from the caller or, if it is not free, the caller can identify himself in a simple manner.
These charging difficulties during the sale of information partly explain why certain organizations prefer to give information free, e.g. information concerning the state of the roads, weather forecasts, etc. However, there are other services where invoicing takes place in a simple, lump sum manner. For example, in France, this is the case with the telephoned information service accessibly by dialling 12 (or 12.12).
The diagram of FIG. 1 defines the structure of systems of this type. As shown (in simplified manner so as to only show the organs involved more or less directly in the charging operation), the system comprises subscriber's telephone sets 10, an exchange 20 having subscriber's equipment 22, counters 24 associated with said equipment, a switching network 26, a control unit 28, a dial pulse receiver 30 and junctors. There are three junctor types, namely a local junctor 32 used for local calls, an information junctor 34 connected to an operator line 35 and a circuit junctor 38 connected to external lines 39, the latter being connected to a timing mechanism 40. These junctors are connected to each subscriber's counter 24 by a charging wire 42.
This system functions in the following way. When a subscriber removes the receiver, his equipment 22 identifies him and the information is transmitted to the control unit 28 which puts the dial pulse receiver 30 into operation via switching system 26. The receiver receives the number transmitted by the caller, transmits it to the control unit 28 which, recognizing the information number (12 or 12.12) orders the switching network 26 to connect the subscriber's equipment 22 to the information junctor 34 and not to the local junctor 32 or circuit junctor 38. Thus, it is the information junctor 34 which transmits the adequate charging instruction to the subscriber's equipment counter 24. This is a so-called quantum charge, which corresponds to two charge units charged as from the start of the call.
It should be noted that, when called, the local junctor 32 only initiates a single charge unit, no matter what the duration of the call. However, the circuit junctor 38 initiates a charge, which is a function of the distance between subscribers and the duration of the call by means of the timing mechanism 40, which defines the charge bands to be used and which counts the number of such bands.
Thus, the function of this system is to advance by two units the counter of the calling subscriber's counter, when the latter is connected to an information operator, whereas in the case of a local call, said counter only advances by a single unit. Thus, there is an extra charge of one unit.
Such a service does not suffer from the disadvantages referred to hereinbefore, because the service offered by the information centre is charged as a function of the consumption of each subscriber without it being necessary for him to have a special terminal, identification taking place automatically by means of the subscriber's telephone number. Moreover, the invoicing of the service is easy and leads to no specific charge for the network administration services.
However, such a system still suffers from the disadvantages of requiring the provision in each telephone exchange of special junctors (like junctors 34) able to control the subscriber's counters in an appropriate manner, such junctors being costly, and the data bank receive no renumeration, because the charges corresponding to the service are included in the general invoice sent to the subscriber, where no distinction is made as compared with ordinary call charges.